Lloyds Auctions: Iconic Fords go under the hammer

The towering legend that is Bathurst's Mount Panorama race track has been the cause of much celebration and disappointment for race drivers and teams alike since the first endurance race was held there in 1960. Lloyds Auctions has managed to capture the essence of the most evocative era of racing in Australia, Group C, with cars which have galloped up the Mountain now offered for the first time to the public completely unreserved.

Dick Johnson is a name that rings through the years with a 'legend' status few drivers of the era can match. Lloyds is proud to offer this 1977 Ford Falcon XC in its iconic Bryan Byrt Ford livery and features an extensive history with both Jim Richards and Dick Johnson piloting the car in period to numerous successes and several Bathurst meetings. The 'reverse Cobra' scheme with number 32 now seen on the car is as the car raced at Bathurst in 1978 with John French and Warwick Brown.

This 1978 Ford Falcon XC is believed to be the third Moffat race car from the era of Allan Moffat and Colin Bond's famous one-two Bathurst finish. Further adding to its provenance is that this car was built using a Ford factory lightweight shell.

Privateer Bill O'Brien ran this car in the Australian Touring Car Championship (ATCC) in 1979 and 1980 to decent results including fourth at Lakeside in '79 and fourth place at Sandown in 1980. Now wearing its Bathurst 1979 Everlast livery, it represents the car Bill O'Brien and Ray Winter competed in that year.

After taking the Australian Touring Car Championship in 1979 Bob Morris cut his ties with Holden for the 1980 running of The Great Race at Bathurst partnering with Bill O'Brien in this 1980 Ford Falcon XD. An iconic and an important car for a race dominated by news of Dick Johnson's collision with 'the rock', this car became the first to run a three driver line-up when Allan Moffat grabbed a stint behind the wheel after his Falcon expired early in the race. O'Brien continued to campaign the car until the end of Group C in 1984 with mid-field Bathurst results and some points wins in the ATCC during 1982 and 1983.

One of the most original Group C race cars in Australia, this 1982 Ford Falcon XE comes complete with stone chips from its last race at Bathurst in 1984 and a pedigree that would be hard to match. Built by Fred Gibson and said to be the most expensive Group C race car ever built, this original and untouched XE Falcon has ATCC and Bathurst meets under its belt with

Joe Moore behind the wheel and symbolises the end of an era for both Australian Group C motorsport and for Ford's iconic 351ci Cleveland V8 with Ford Australia abandoning V8 engines altogether from 1985 for nearly a decade.